I Got Paid to Train for a New Job at 65: My Honest Experience With SCSEP

💡 10 Key Takeaways: What You Absolutely Need to Know First

What is SCSEP in plain English? SCSEP is a community service and work-based job training program authorized by the Older Americans Act that provides paid training for low-income, unemployed seniors who work an average of 20 hours a week at the highest applicable minimum wage. You train. You work. You get paid while doing both.

Who administers SCSEP? SCSEP grantees include state agencies and 19 national nonprofit organizations. The major national administrators are the AARP Foundation, the National Council on Aging (NCOA), Goodwill Industries, the National Caucus and Center on Black Aged, the National Urban League, and Experience Works.

What are the income limits to qualify? Participants must be at least 55, unemployed, and have a family income of no more than 125% of the federal poverty level. Critically, certain income sources — including SSI, SSDI, and 25% of Social Security retirement benefits — do not count toward that threshold.

Who gets priority enrollment? Priority goes to veterans and qualified spouses first, then to individuals over 65, those with disabilities, those with low literacy or limited English, rural residents, people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, those with low employment prospects, and those who have already tried other workforce programs without success.

Is SCSEP still operating in 2026? Yes — but with important nuance. SCSEP has not been eliminated and continues to operate in many communities, though funding has been in flux with some organizations experiencing pauses or slowdowns in 2025. Local availability varies. Calling ahead is essential.

What is the biggest threat to SCSEP right now? The White House submitted a budget proposal to Congress that would completely cut the $405 million SCSEP funding at the national level starting with the 2026–2027 program year. The program is currently funded through June 30, 2026, but its future beyond that is politically contested.

What does SCSEP actually give you beyond a paycheck? All participants receive an Individual Employment Plan defining their goals, six-month reassessments, annual health screenings, job skills training, and supportive services including benefit applications assistance and access to local resources.

What do the health outcomes look like for participants? More than 90% of surveyed SCSEP participants reported maintaining or improving their physical health while working in the program. Nearly 74% reported a better outlook on life — numbers no pill or policy produces that consistently.

How long can you participate? Individual participation is limited to 48 months unless an extension is authorized based on statutory requirements. Four years is enough time to transition into permanent employment several times over.

How do I find my local SCSEP program right now? Call the toll-free helpline at 1-877-US2-JOBS (1-877-872-5627) or use CareerOneStop’s Older Worker Program Finder. These connect you directly to local grantees in your county.

🏛️ SCSEP Was Built for People Like You — Here Is the History Nobody Tells You

Most government programs arrive with fanfare and disappear with quiet budget cuts. SCSEP has survived for over 60 years because it is structurally different from almost every other social safety net program. It was not designed to give seniors a check and send them home. It was designed to give seniors the same thing they give to the communities where they train: economic dignity through work itself.

Created in 1965, the Senior Community Service Employment Program is the nation’s oldest program designed to help low-income, unemployed adults age 55 and older find work. It predates the internet, the personal computer, and most of the workforce development infrastructure that exists today. It survived attempts to eliminate it during the first Trump administration, survived the pandemic, and is surviving the funding turbulence of 2025 — though not without real disruption to real people.

SCSEP is the only federal job training program targeted specifically to older Americans and has historically helped about 68,000 people each year through employment and training. The federal government has provided approximately $400 to $434 million annually to run it, and by law, 75% of that funding is spent directly on paying wages and benefits to SCSEP participants. This is not a program where most of the money goes to administration. Three-quarters of every dollar goes into the pockets of the seniors it serves.

The research on what it produces for participants is consistent. Peer-reviewed research confirms that SCSEP participation reduces social isolation, increases desire to participate in the community, builds self-confidence, and improves both financial and physical well-being. These aren’t soft outcomes invented by program advocates. They’re findings from independently conducted studies published in academic journals.

But here is what the government website won’t tell you: in many communities, SCSEP operates on waitlists. The demand for spots routinely exceeds available placements. Seniors who wait to apply — because they don’t fully believe it’s real, because they’re embarrassed to try, or because the process seems complicated — lose months of paid training time. Applying now, even if your local program has a queue, is always the right move.

✅ Am I Actually Eligible? A Detailed Breakdown of What Counts (and What Doesn’t)

This is the section most people need most, and most SCSEP resources handle it with a vague paragraph that leaves people unsure. Here is the detailed reality of who qualifies.

The Three Core Requirements

Requirement 1 — Age: You must be 55 years old or older. There is no upper age limit. The program serves people in their 60s, 70s, and 80s.

Requirement 2 — Employment status: You must be currently unemployed. People who are underemployed (working fewer hours than they need) but technically employed do not meet this standard. You must be genuinely out of work.

Requirement 3 — Income: Your family income must be no more than 125% of the federal poverty level. For 2025, the federal poverty level guidelines — updated January 15, 2025 by HHS and in effect for SCSEP’s current program year — produce the following approximate income limits:

👨‍👩‍👧 Household Size	💰 2025 Federal Poverty Level	✅ SCSEP Limit (125%)
👤 1 person	~$15,060/year	~$18,825/year
👥 2 people	~$20,440/year	~$25,550/year
👨‍👩‍👧 3 people	~$25,820/year	~$32,275/year
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 4 people	~$31,200/year	~$39,000/year
🏘️ Alaska / Hawaii	Separate, higher thresholds	Contact local office

The Income Counting Rules That Could Change Your Eligibility

This is where many seniors disqualify themselves incorrectly. Not all income counts toward the SCSEP threshold. The following are excluded from the calculation:

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) — Does not count. Zero.

Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) — Does not count.

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25% of your Social Security retirement benefits — One quarter of whatever you receive in Social Security retirement payments is excluded from the income calculation.

SNAP (food stamps), housing assistance, Medicaid, and most other means-tested benefits — These do not count as income for SCSEP eligibility purposes.

Practical implication: A single senior receiving $1,800 per month in Social Security retirement ($21,600/year) would count only $16,200 of that toward their income for SCSEP purposes (75% of $21,600). That puts them under the 2025 single-person threshold of approximately $18,825. They would likely qualify. Many seniors who assume they earn too much to qualify are wrong when they apply the actual income-counting rules.

Who Gets Moved to the Front of the Line

Enrollment priority goes to veterans and qualified spouses first, then to individuals who are over 65, have a disability, have low literacy skills or limited English proficiency, reside in a rural area, are homeless or at risk of homelessness, have low employment prospects, or have failed to find employment after using other workforce programs. If you fit multiple categories — say, you’re 67, a veteran, and live in a rural county — you are at the very front of the enrollment queue.

🎖️ Priority Group	💡 What It Means	✅ Action
Veterans & qualifying spouses	Highest priority by law	Bring discharge papers (DD-214) to application
Age 65+	Priority over 55-64 age group	Documented by ID at intake
Disability	Physical or mental documented barrier	Bring medical documentation
Rural residence	Lives outside metro/urban area	Confirmed by address
Homeless / at risk	Including transitional housing	Self-disclosed or verified
Low employment prospects	Defined by DOL assessment	Assessed at intake
Already tried other programs	Used WIOA or similar, no result	Document participation

💼 What SCSEP Actually Looks Like Day to Day: What You’ll Do, Where You’ll Work

Most people imagine SCSEP as something between volunteer work and a government office shuffle. The reality is more substantive, more varied, and in many ways more useful to your long-term employability than any classroom training program.

SCSEP participants gain work experience in a variety of community service activities at nonprofit and public facilities, including schools, hospitals, day-care centers, and senior centers. These placements are called “host agencies.” The host agency supervises your day-to-day work; the SCSEP grantee manages your overall training plan, employment goals, and wage payment.

What Types of Places Become Host Agencies?

The diversity of host agency types is much wider than most seniors expect:

🏢 Host Agency Type	💡 Common Roles	🎓 Skills You Build
📚 Libraries	Circulation desk, cataloging, patron assistance	Customer service, computer literacy, organization
🏥 Hospitals & clinics	Administrative support, reception, patient intake	Medical terminology, data entry, scheduling
🍽️ Food banks / pantries	Ordering systems, client services, inventory	Logistics, database management, community relations
👴 Senior centers	Activity coordination, reception, intake	Communication, event planning, social work
🏫 Schools & daycare	Classroom aide, office support, tutoring	Teaching support, child development, documentation
🏛️ Government agencies	Clerical, records management, public services	Government systems, filing, client relations
🌿 Nonprofits	Program support, outreach, data entry	Communications, grant support, community organizing
⛪ Faith-based organizations	Administrative, event coordination	Community engagement, scheduling, public relations

These entry-level to mid-level community service jobs include work such as learning how to operate the ordering system at a food bank or answering phones at your local Council on Aging. Roles like this provide current work experience, which is attractive to potential employers. “It’s often easier to find a job when you have a job,” as AARP Foundation’s senior vice president of programs has observed.

What You Actually Receive While in the Program

SCSEP is not just a placement service. The support package around the placement is what makes it genuinely transformative for people who have been out of the workforce for years:

🎁 What You Get	💡 Details	⏰ When You Get It
💰 Paid wages	Highest of federal, state, or local minimum wage	From your first training day
📋 Individual Employment Plan	Personalized roadmap to permanent employment	Created at intake, updated every 6 months
🩺 Annual health screening	Physical health check	Once per program year
💻 Job skills training	Computer literacy, resume writing, interview prep	Throughout participation
🤝 Supportive services	Transportation assistance, work clothing help, benefit navigation	As needed
🏛️ American Job Center access	Career counseling, job listings, training referrals	Ongoing
📞 Career coaching	One-on-one employment specialist guidance	Ongoing

⚠️ The Honest 2026 Funding Reality: What’s Happening and What It Means for You

No article written in good faith about SCSEP in 2026 can avoid this. The program is facing a level of federal funding uncertainty that is unprecedented in its 60-year history, and seniors deserve to understand exactly what is happening and what it means for them practically.

What happened in mid-2025:

A delay by the Department of Labor in issuing official guidance and grant awards for Program Year 2025 forced participants to pause activities effective July 1, 2025, even though DOL indicated that SCSEP was expected to be funded through July 30, 2026. In Ohio alone, 96 older adults suddenly lost access to their training wages and employment support due to this administrative delay. Similar disruptions occurred in Florida, parts of the South, and other states.

As of October 30, 2025, National Able Network — one of the national SCSEP administrators — announced it had received formal authorization from the U.S. Department of Labor and SCSEP was resuming normal operations. The pause ended. People went back to work.

What the bigger threat is:

The White House submitted a budget proposal that would completely cut the $405 million SCSEP funding at the national level for the start of the 2026–2027 program year. The administration’s stated rationale was that the program failed to move seniors into unsubsidized employment at sufficient rates. Independent program evaluators, advocates, and members of Congress from both parties have disputed this characterization.

This is not the first time a presidential administration has proposed eliminating SCSEP. The first Trump administration proposed the same elimination, and Congress did not pass it. The current political situation bears watching, but the program is funded through June 30, 2026, and advocacy groups including NCOA, AARP Foundation, and congressional allies are actively fighting the proposed cut.

What this means for you right now:

📌 Situation	💡 What to Do	⏰ Urgency
🟢 Program active in your area	Apply immediately	High — spots fill
🟡 Program paused, resuming	Get on waitlist now	High — ahead when it resumes
🔴 Program eliminated in your state	Contact CareerOneStop for alternatives	High — other resources exist
🔵 Unsure of local status	Call 1-877-872-5627	Immediate — takes 5 minutes

The advocate’s advice, which SCSEP offices won’t say out loud: If the program faces further cuts, people already enrolled and actively participating are in a far better protected position than people on a waitlist. Getting in now — even if your placement takes a few weeks to arrange — secures your spot in the program ahead of potential funding disruptions. Waiting costs you nothing. Waiting costs you everything if funding disappears before you apply.

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📞 The Complete Contact Guide: How to Reach SCSEP in Your Area

This is the practical section that most articles on SCSEP completely skip, leaving readers to navigate the federal government’s website structure on their own. Here is the full map of who to contact and how.

National Entry Points

🏛️ Organization	📞 Contact	🌍 Who They Serve
🇺🇸 U.S. Dept. of Labor / CareerOneStop	1-877-872-5627 (1-877-US2-JOBS)	All states — routes to local providers
🤝 AARP Foundation SCSEP	aarp.org/aarp-foundation	Multi-state, $46.8M DOL grant
🏛️ NCOA SCSEP	ncoa.org/page/workforce-training	24 offices, U.S. and Puerto Rico
🏙️ American Job Centers	CareerOneStop.org	Nearly every U.S. county

Largest National SCSEP Grantees (Who May Operate in Your Area)

SCSEP grantees include state agencies and 19 national nonprofit organizations. The ones with the largest national footprint include:

🤝 Grantee Organization	📌 Key States / Coverage	💡 How to Reach
🔵 AARP Foundation	Multi-state, including TX (82 counties)	aarp.org/aarp-foundation
🏛️ NCOA	24 offices nationwide + Puerto Rico	ncoa.org
♻️ Goodwill Industries International	Widespread state coverage	goodwill.org local affiliate
🟤 National Caucus/Center on Black Aged	Southeast and urban centers	ncba-aged.org
🟠 National Urban League	Urban markets nationally	nul.org
🟡 Experience Works	Rural states emphasis	experienceworks.org
🔴 National Able Network	Midwest and Great Lakes	nationalable.org
🟢 SER Jobs for Progress	Southwest, Hispanic communities	ser-national.org

If You Want to Call Your State’s Program Directly

Every state administers its own SCSEP component alongside the national grantees. The fastest way to reach your state program is to call 1-877-872-5627 and ask to be connected to the state SCSEP office for your state. You can also search “[your state name] SCSEP” or “[your state name] Department of Aging SCSEP” in any browser.

When you call, ask these specific questions:

“Is your SCSEP program currently enrolling new participants?”
“Is there a waitlist, and if so, can I get on it today?”
“What income documentation do I need to bring to the intake appointment?”
“Which host agencies are currently accepting trainees in my zip code?”

🗓️ What the SCSEP Application Process Actually Looks Like, Step by Step

The bureaucratic reputation of government programs causes many eligible seniors to assume SCSEP enrollment is complicated, time-consuming, and frustrating. It is not. Paperwork is kept to a minimum. Here is what the process actually looks like from first contact to first paid workday.

Step 1 — First contact (same day): Call 1-877-872-5627 or the local program number. A counselor will ask preliminary questions to assess your likely eligibility. If you appear to qualify, they schedule an intake appointment. This call takes about 15 minutes.

Step 2 — Intake appointment (within 1–2 weeks): You attend an in-person or phone appointment with an employment specialist. They verify your age, employment status, and income using documentation. They explain the program in detail and answer your questions. There is no test, no evaluation of your qualifications for specific work, and no judgment of your work history.

Documents typically requested at intake:

📄 Document	💡 What It Proves	✅ Acceptable Forms
Government photo ID	Age (55+)	Driver’s license, passport, state ID
Social Security card or number	Identity	Card, SSA letter
Proof of income	Family income ≤ 125% FPL	Tax return, SSA benefit letter, bank statements
Proof of unemployment	Currently not working	Self-attestation in most programs
Veterans documentation	Priority enrollment	DD-214 (if applicable)
Proof of address	Residency	Utility bill, lease, mail

Step 3 — Individual Employment Plan creation (week 1–2): Your employment specialist works with you to document your employment history, identify your goals, assess your current skills, and map the training placements that will build toward permanent employment. This plan is yours — it evolves with you every six months.

Step 4 — Host agency matching (week 2–4): The program identifies available host agency placements that match your skills, interests, transportation situation, and employment goals. You meet the host agency supervisor, see the work environment, and agree to the placement. If the match doesn’t feel right, you can request alternatives.

Step 5 — First paid workday (week 3–6): You show up. You work your 20 hours. You receive your first paycheck — paid at the highest applicable minimum wage in your area.

🧠 Why SCSEP Works When Job Applications Don’t: The Psychology of Re-Entry

There is a reason the AARP Foundation observed that “it’s often easier to find a job when you have a job” — and it’s not just about having something to put on your resume. The psychological mechanics of job searching from a position of active employment are fundamentally different from job searching from unemployment.

When you are unemployed and applying for work, every rejection amplifies a growing internal narrative that you are unwanted. This is especially acute for seniors, who face documented systematic age discrimination and who often internalize rejection as evidence of their own diminished worth rather than as evidence of employer bias.

Qualitative research on SCSEP participants has shown that most participants came in with a majority of respondents who had experienced a lifetime of disadvantages. SCSEP participation was found to reduce social isolation, and that reduction in isolation directly increases the desire to continue participating. The program creates a virtuous cycle: working makes you want to keep working. Feeling valued as a colleague makes you believe you are valuable to an employer. Producing results in a training placement gives you specific, recent accomplishments to discuss in interviews.

Research found that SCSEP participation influences financial, physical, and mental well-being simultaneously — all three dimensions improving together, not in isolation. This is the program’s true value proposition. It doesn’t just give you job skills. It rebuilds the whole person who shows up to use those skills.

The participant testimonials in the official record say it plainly. “Without SCSEP I wouldn’t be able to support myself while I get more training to be able to get a good job. Although we’re older, all we need is a chance to prove ourselves. SCSEP gives us that chance — our foot in the door to prove ourselves.”

📊 The Demographic Reality: Who SCSEP Actually Serves

Understanding who the typical SCSEP participant looks like dismantles the assumption that this program is for an extreme fringe of the senior population. SCSEP participant statistics show that 35% have one or more years of college, 84% have a high school diploma, 8% are veterans or qualified spouses, and 16% live in rural areas.

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In 2019, SCSEP participants were about two-thirds women, with 12% reporting Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin and 44% identifying as Black or African American. About a quarter had a disability, and about a quarter had low literacy skills. These are the Americans who face the steepest climb back into economic stability — and SCSEP is the specifically designed solution for their specific situation.

In that same year, 39% of SCSEP participants were over the age of 65 and 17% were over the age of 70. The program is not an under-65 bridge program. It serves people who need employment into their 70s, and it does so without asking them to compete against 30-year-olds in open job markets that treat age as a disqualifier.

⚖️ The Fight to Save SCSEP: What the Budget Debate Actually Means

For a program that has operated for 60 years and survived multiple elimination attempts, the current budget threat requires direct, unvarnished discussion. This is not alarmism — it is civic information that every person who might need SCSEP deserves to understand.

The Trump White House’s budget proposal uses the following language to justify eliminating SCSEP: “SCSEP purports to provide job training and subsidized employment to low-income seniors, but fails at its goal: to move seniors to unsubsidized, gainful employment.”

The independent evidence does not support this conclusion. The program’s own outcome data shows consistent transitions to permanent employment, and the peer-reviewed research on participant well-being outcomes is strongly positive. What the administration characterizes as “failure” is, by the measure of many researchers and practitioners, a program serving the most difficult-to-place segment of the older workforce and producing meaningful results against long odds.

The 2025 funding delay alone resulted in 96 older adults in Ohio alone losing access to critical training opportunities and the modest wages they depend on to meet basic needs such as food, housing, medications, and transportation. That’s just one state. The cumulative national impact of a mid-year pause ran into the tens of thousands of people.

What you can do:

The NCOA, AARP Foundation, and allied organizations are actively lobbying Congress to maintain SCSEP funding. Contacting your U.S. representative and senators — especially those on the House Education and Workforce Committee and the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee — with a personal letter describing your experience with or need for SCSEP is among the most effective actions available to individual citizens. Congressional offices count constituent contacts, and they count them specifically when federal programs in their districts face elimination.

🏥 The Health Outcomes Nobody Is Publicizing Enough

The employment outcomes of SCSEP are well documented, but the health outcomes are the story that deserves far more attention than it receives.

More than 90% of surveyed SCSEP participants reported maintaining or improving their physical health while working in the program. Nearly 74% of older adults reported a better outlook on life while working through SCSEP. These are not survey results you can dismiss. They are consistent, large-sample findings that reflect something well established in the gerontological research: meaningful work is medicine for older adults.

The mechanism is documented. When seniors who have been isolated by unemployment return to a structured, socially engaged, purposeful daily environment, their health improves across multiple dimensions simultaneously. Blood pressure, cognitive engagement, mood, and self-assessed health outcomes all move in a positive direction. The act of getting up, getting dressed, and being expected somewhere at a particular time creates a physiological and psychological routine that isolation destroys.

Peer-reviewed research confirms that SCSEP participation reduces social isolation, and that this reduction in isolation directly increases the desire to continue participating — creating a self-reinforcing positive feedback loop. This is the kind of finding that behavioral scientists spend careers trying to replicate. SCSEP produces it reliably, in communities across the country, at no cost to participants.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions: The Real Ones People Are Searching For

If I start SCSEP, will it affect my Medicare or Medicaid?

Your SCSEP training wages are income, and in some states they may affect Medicaid eligibility if your total income rises above your state’s threshold. Medicare is not affected — it is not income-based once you are enrolled. Before you start receiving wages, ask your SCSEP employment specialist to connect you with a benefits counselor (most programs have one) to run the numbers on your specific situation. The NCOA’s BenefitsCheckUp tool at benefitscheckup.org is free and shows the impact of new income on all benefit programs you currently receive.

Will SCSEP wages reduce my Social Security benefits?

This depends on whether you are receiving Social Security retirement benefits and whether you are under full retirement age. If you are under your full retirement age (which is 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later), Social Security reduces benefits by $1 for every $2 earned above the annual threshold — which in 2025 is approximately $22,320. At 20 hours per week at minimum wage, SCSEP wages typically fall well below this threshold. Once you reach full retirement age, there is no earnings limit and wages do not reduce benefits at all.

My English is limited. Can I still apply?

Individuals with limited English proficiency are actually given priority enrollment in SCSEP, not disadvantaged by it. Many SCSEP providers operate with bilingual staff, and AARP’s resources are available in Spanish. When you call the national helpline, ask specifically about language support in your area.

I’ve been out of work for over 10 years. Will SCSEP still help me?

SCSEP was specifically designed for people with significant employment gaps and outdated skills. To be eligible, participants must be considered “not job ready,” using the Department of Labor’s definition that they require further education or training to perform work that is available. A 10-year gap is not a disqualifier — it is precisely the situation SCSEP exists to address. The Individual Employment Plan starts from wherever you currently are and builds forward.

What if I get a permanent job while I’m in SCSEP? Do I have to pay anything back?

No. Getting a permanent job is the stated goal of the program. When you transition to unsubsidized employment, your SCSEP participation ends — successfully. You keep everything you earned. You keep all the training and skills. Many programs provide transition support after placement, including the monthly newsletters that Missouri’s SCSEP sends to participants who have entered permanent employment to help them maintain their success.

I live in a very rural area. Does SCSEP actually reach rural counties?

SCSEP is designed to serve over 60,000 seniors annually and the program is structured to reach nearly every county in the nation. Rural residents are given enrollment priority specifically because geographic isolation creates employment barriers beyond the scope of urban job centers. Call 1-877-872-5627 and explicitly identify your rural location — this affects both eligibility priority and which specific grantee is assigned to serve your county.

I’m a veteran. How much does that help my application?

Significantly. Veterans and qualified spouses receive the highest priority enrollment category in SCSEP — above every other priority group. Bring your DD-214 discharge papers to your intake appointment. If you are a surviving spouse of a veteran who qualifies, you may also receive priority enrollment — ask your employment specialist specifically about this at intake.

What happens if the program in my area pauses again due to funding?

Participants already enrolled and actively placed at host agencies are treated differently than people on waitlists when funding disruptions occur. Applying now is still worthwhile — getting connected opens doors as funding cycles shift and positions become available. Once you are formally enrolled and active, you have documented standing in the program that protects your place during funding transitions in ways that pending applicants do not.

🏁 The Honest Bottom Line on SCSEP in 2026

SCSEP is the most financially powerful, most structurally comprehensive, and most underused program available to low-income seniors who need employment. It pays you from day one. It builds your resume while you earn. It provides health screenings, career coaching, and personalized employment planning at no cost. And its health outcomes — with more than 90% of participants maintaining or improving their physical health — represent a secondary benefit that no other job training program in America can match.

The fact that it is under active threat from a federal budget proposal makes applying now not just the right financial decision — it is the most protective decision. Enrollment secures your place. Waiting risks losing access to a program that took 60 years to build and might not survive the next budget cycle.

For more information on SCSEP programs in your area, use CareerOneStop’s Older Worker Program Finder or call the toll-free helpline at 1-877-US2-JOBS (1-877-872-5627). That call is five minutes. The outcomes on the other side of it can last years.

You do not need to be a perfect candidate. You do not need a polished resume or recent work history. You need to be 55 or older, unemployed, and within the income limit. Everything else — the plan, the placement, the training, the health check, the coaching, the path to permanent employment — the program provides.

Pick up the phone.

Statistics, program descriptions, and regulatory information in this article are sourced from the U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration, the National Council on Aging, the AARP Foundation, the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (HHS) 2025 Poverty Guidelines, peer-reviewed research published in PMC/NIH, congressional testimony and budget justification documents, and state-level SCSEP program plans for program years 2024–2027.

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